my story: type 2
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from your diabetes, you can catch
it early. I know I did the wrong
thing and I know I needed the
kick in the arse for it – and trust
me, I get it every single day.There’s more complications
Having been a diabetic for 30
odd years, it’s only been in the
last four or five years that I have
begun seeing the complications
of my diabetes. The first was the
loss of my vision, but since then
I have also begun experiencing
problems with the circulation in
my feet – I’m now always covered
in ulcers on the lower half of
my legs, my feet and even my
arms, due to the circulation issue- depression from all of the
above, but especially so when
I’m having a run where I can’t
get my diabetes under control,
and quite a number of other
complications, too.
Even more recently, I had an
infected blister on my foot –
from a shoe that was a little too
tight – and although the blister
was being treated, it had already
caused the bone in my foot to
weaken. As I stepped out of bed
one morning, I realised I could
no longer stand on it. X-rays
showed a broken bone and
further tests showed the spread
of the infection. My little toe has
since been amputated this year,
along with the metatarsal bone.
Unfortunately, it’s not healing as
well as we hoped, so I may have
to go back for more, but for now,
we are simply taking it
one day at a time.
It doesn’t matter who
you are, if you have
diabetes and do not take
it seriously, there is
a chance you will face
complications down
the track – some more
severe than others.
Although some people
are more susceptible to
it than others, diabetes
does not pick who it
wants to attack. If you’re going to
get it, you are going to get it. But
if you do find yourself in a place
where your diabetes is consuming
you, or you simply do not know
what to do, find someone who
has lived through it or is living
through it and talk to them.
They have not learnt about
their diabetes from books or
movies. They have learnt
everything they know throughtheir own personal experiences.
They are able to walk you through
it without sugar-coating the
tough parts, and they will tell you
that you can do it if you put your
mind to it. And that’s the most
important thing: putting your
mind to it.All that’s left
On top of that, your
senses are a very
valuable thing people
often take for granted.
To be honest, you just
don’t know what’s going
to happen with your
sight, ever! One day
you can see everything
clearly and just like
that... it’s gone.
My beautiful wife’s
face, in those last minutes before
we went to bed, was the last thing
I ever saw clearly – and I can still
visualise it in my mind every day.
After that moment, everything is
blurry. The only thing you can do
with that final visual memory is
to cherish the crap out of it.
That’s my last 100-per-cent
clear vision and I’ll be holding
onto that precious memory
until the day I die. ■Find
someone
who has
lived
through it
OPPOSITE FAR LEFT: Dearne and Neil
with their grandchildren. OPPOSITE RIGHT:
Neil at work. LEFT: Dearne and Neil.diabetic living MAY/JUNE 2019 115